Yep, I just wrote that title. But upon looking at this thing, the Zyppah Rx is pretty hilariously styled. Green and black? Nice. Very slick, my friends.

But I digress. These stop snoring mouthpieces are not exactly for wearing to the ball, now are they? They’re about ensuring that you can sleep. Or more importantly, ensuring the person you sleep with can get a good night’s sleep. And so we find ourselves reviewing it.

Bob Eubanks In The House!

It truly is hard not to love something big-upped by Bob Eubanks. I mean, this was the guy who hosted the madness that was the Newlywed Game! Great show. Great guy. But does the Zyppah Rx really do the job of quieting your snoring, or is it just another “As Seen On TV” product with more flash than substance?

The Pitch

So what makes the Zyppah Rx (weird name, I know) better than another stop snoring mouthpiece, like the Good Morning Snore Solution? (a review is here) Well, first of all, that price is nice. The Good Morning Snore Solution (uh, I’m going to call it GMSS from here on in, just to save time) is over a hundred bucks, while the Zyppah is decidedly under. In fact, it’s $30 less. That’s a good chunk of change, friends.

Comfort Level

I’ll admit that I was surprised by how initially comfortable the Zyppah was. While in the photos the plastic looks a lot harder than that of GMSS, it in fact is just about the same degree of softness. What’s more, I have to say that I was pretty seriously hesitant to believe that it, as Zyppah says, it self-molds to your mouth. I mean, really? How is that possible?

But it actually does. In fact, it forms really nicely to your mouth. And the tongue stabilizer bit (uh, not sure they have a real title for the band at the back) is way less, uh, freaky than I thought it would be. I can definitely see how it keeps the tongue out of the way, and I was pretty surprised that it did so without invoking the “dreaded gag reflex”.

If you’ve read the site, you know that I’m not a huge fan of stuffing things in my mouth (which is why the SnoreLess Pillow was such a winner for me!), but mouthpieces do work for a lot of snorers, and for me as well. The Zyppah is a thousand times more comfortable than it looks, and frankly, at least according to my wife, works. It works well.

My wife actually slept better when I used the Zyppah as opposed to the GMSS. Meanwhile, I liked the feel a lot better as well.

Oh, and they do include a free guide to a better night’s sleep, which is a nice bonus, and actually has some solid tips in it. I was pretty pleased by some of the things I read, and was actually shocked it wasn’t just some throwaway document.

I found a cool video that pretty much sums up how Zyppah works:

The Downside Of Zyppah

Alright, so there’s always going to be a downside. As I’ve preached again and again, every solution is NOT going to work for every snorer. So I like it a little less that the trial is $9.95. I mean, no problem if it works for you, as you’re saving a cool $30 over the GMSS, but if it doesn’t, you’re on the hook for the cash. Not a deal breaker, but it is nice that GMSS has a full money back guarantee.

Hmm. And probably that Green/Black design. It’s all a bit “Green Hornet” for me, but if it works, it works, I always say. And you can probably scare off intruders with it as well 😉

People often ask for the expert advice of professionals when things are bothering them. After all, it is better to be safe than sorry especially when it comes to your health. You can’t just compromise your health because you were too afraid to ask the questions circling in your head. But when you have sleep issues, traditional doctors may not be the best experts to help you. Sure, they likely know a thing or two about sleep health and the body’s normal physiologic processes but you need to go somewhere else if you really need answers.

Sleep clinics or sleep labs are the best places to get checked or treated if your problem has to do with your sleep. Not only will you be seen by special sleep doctors but the facility itself is often equipped with modern equipment that can help get to the bottom of your sleep woes. Today, the number of people who go to these sleep clinics to get tested are increasing that it is starting to become a lucrative career for some.

Almost two years after being smacked with the lion’s share of a $20.5 million verdict for the death of a patient at one of its sleep centers, EmoryUniversity is suing the contractor that was responsible for running the facility, according to an article published in the Daily Report.

Last month, the university filed a federal suit in Atlanta against Neurocare Inc., the company the university contracted to run the sleep center at which Brandon Harris, 25, died in 2010. Emory claims the Boston-based company broke agreements to indemnify and defend the university.

Harris, who was developmentally disabled and suffered from a variety of physical ailments, including cardiomyopathy, died after reportedly showing increasingly severe signs of respiratory distress while at the EmoryClinicSleepCenter. Harris’ mother and her legal team, led by The Cochran Firm’s Jane Lamberti, contended Harris died of pulmonary edema, or fluid buildup in his lungs, caused by the center technicians’ insistence that he lie flat on his back throughout the study.

It is not unusual to feel uncomfortable upon stepping inside the pristine environment of a sleep clinic fully knowing that you have to spend the night there under the watchful and trained eyes of professional sleep technicians. However, you need to sleep there for the night if you really have a serious sleep problem. The downside is that these sleep technicians may be knowledgeable and trained in what they do but they aren’t real doctors who know fully well how the human body works and may not understand how certain actions may exacerbate a certain health condition.

The suit claims that after Emory was sued in 2011 by the administrator of the dead man’s estate, Neurocare repeatedly ignored Emory’s requests that it pay for Emory’s defense and that of the center’s medical director, David Schulman. The suit also claims that Neurocare did not defend itself at the 2015 trial after informing Emory’s defense counsel that it had reached a separate pretrial settlement, although Neurocare was not dropped as a defendant in the case.

A spokeswoman for Neurocare on Tuesday declined to comment on the new suit. Hunter Allen Jr. and Gary McCain of Atlanta’s Allen & McCain, who filed the federal suit for Emory, also would not comment.

Emory’s complaint against Neurocare comes 20 months after a DeKalbCounty jury awarded the estate of sleep center patient Brandon Harris $20.5 million. Although the jury apportioned 60 percent of the blame for Harris’s death to Neurocare and one percent to Schulman, it specifically that EmoryUniversity was liable for Neurocare’s negligence and that of Neurocare’s SleepCenter technicians—bringing Emory’s apportioned share of the verdict to $12.5 million.

Well, you actually have no choice but to get checked at a sleep clinic if you constantly suffer from sleep apnea or insomnia perhaps. During your stay at the clinic, trained technicians will assess you on how your body react to sleep so that they can come up with an exact diagnosis. More often than not, a breathing problem is the main cause of sleeping problems and ordinary doctors aren’t that trained to distinguish it during routine medical check-ups. An overnight stay in these facilities isn’t cheap too. But there’s no point in suffering in your sleep if there are already available technologies to help you overcome these issues. Just make sure to inform your doctor and the technicians about existing medical conditions that may worsen during your stay or risk injury or death like this poor unfortunate case.

At the end of the day, the only comforting thought that helps you get from work to your home is your nice, soft bed and the hours you’d spend on it in deep slumber. We used to hate being told to sleep when we were younger because our then free spirited nature only wanted to explore the outdoors. Unfortunately, adult responsibilities are too much for us once we grew up that we long for the comfort of our beds and being able to sleep and wake up whenever we want to.

You actually spend a third of your life asleep. It is why finding the right bed is crucial for your comfort and so that you sleep better at night too. You don’t want to spend most of your time tossing and turning because you don’t feel comfortable in your own bed. It defeats the purpose of sleeping in the first place. Roughly 92% of the population agree that a good mattress is crucial for a good night’s sleep. You don’t want to end up feeling more tired upon waking up than you did before going to sleep.

“Waking up on the wrong side of the bed” could mean several things, one of that being you’re sleeping on a mattress that isn’t right for you.

Sometimes it could be the pillows. They could be too hard, too soft or too lumpy. Or for some people, it could be the thread count of your pillow cases and sheets. Or you could simply be suffering from a sleep disorder.

Whether you are sleeping in your own bed or a hotel room, you’re always looking for a good night’s sleep.

Sleeping is as important as eating. It is essential for your overall health and wellbeing.

A night’s sleep is divided into five stages, which are defined by types of brain waves that reflect lighter or deeper sleep. Rapid eye movement or REM happens toward morning. This is when dreaming occurs.

The main factor in choosing a bed is whether you feel right when lying down on it. Stay away from brands where you end up with all sorts of aches and pains upon arising.

Today’s adjustable beds let people sharing a bed set their own sleep positions. A wife can adjust her husband’s position if his snoring is keeping her awake, adds Jay Thompson, president of the Leggett & Platt Adjustable Bed Group in Carthage, Missouri. His company makes adjustable bed bases.

Many customers — particularly millennials — choose adjustable beds because they want to use the features while they are awake, he says. Raising the top of the mattress makes it more comfortable to work, read or watch TV.

“It’s the idea that I just want to be able to adjust my position for comfort. I don’t want to have to prop a half a dozen pillows when I want to chill out in my bed and watch TV or work,” Thompson says. “It’s a lifestyle buy.”

Other more innovative mattresses are now sold on the market today. They have high-tech features that help individuals get a good night’s sleep. For instance, they showcase thermoregulation features that help get rid of excess heat in your slumber.

Mattress Firm, Inc., the nation’s largest specialty bedding retailer, today launched a new campaign designed to drive awareness around technology in an unexpected place – the mattress. Titled “Technology to Power Off,” it showcases Mattress Firm’s most innovative mattresses from Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB).

To launch the campaign, tech icon Steve Wozniak joined Mattress Firm CEO Ken Murphy on stage at the Company’s annual leadership conference in Houston during a livestreamed keynote discussion about tech innovations and sleep. Mattress Firm is rolling out breakthrough mattress technology from SSB, the largest bedding manufacturer in the United States. The event showcased the Serta iComfort® TempTouch™ and the Beautryrest Black® Hybrid.

Address snoring as well as other minor discomforts like joint and back pain by purchasing a bed that you can adjust so you sleep better at night. It’s all about comfort now when you go to sleep such as purchasing a mattress without that much cushioning to allow the neutral positioning of the spine.

Moreover, make sure you limit technology use to outside the bedroom because they are the main cause of sleep deprivation these days. The blue light they emit is also detrimental to your health. Make sure you reserve the bed for just sleeping and sex. Those are the only two activities you can do in bed, so as not to mess up your sleeping pattern and affect your overall sleep quality. When you do that, you won’t have a hard time falling asleep in a bed that screams comfort all along.

Exposure to light stimulates alertness. It’s the reason why we sleep at night – preferably with the lights turned off. Light in itself has a big impact to sleep health and quality. Your mind and body stay stimulated in its presence. It is okay if you are not about to sleep yet, but if you are, you might have a hard time drifting off to dreamland in the presence of artificial lighting. And as we continue to enjoy fiddling with technology during bed time, the blue light these gadgets emit prove to be harmful to human health too aside from pushing your bedtime even further.

Establishing a healthy sleep environment is more crucial than ever now that sleep deprivation is a problem faced by many. If sleeping at night is not possible because of work obligations, you can still easily catch some shuteye during the day as long as you use dark shades or curtains to keep the daylight out. When sleeping at night, turn off all the lights if possible. If you or your partner aren’t comfortable sleeping in total darkness, using a nightlight can help you get through the night with your sense of sanity intact.

Workers who are exposed to sunlight or bright indoor lights during the morning hours sleep better at night and tend to feel less depressed and stressed than those who don’t get much morning light, according to a recent study.

Exposure to more light during the day and less light at night is critical for healthy sleep patterns because it helps to calibrate the body’s internal “circadian” clock, the study team writes in the journal Sleep Health.

The results suggest that in office environments, being exposed either to daylight or electric lights that are rich in short wave “blue” light may be important for the health of workers, said lead author Mariana Figueiro.

Researchers have also recently discovered the correlation between light exposure during specific hours in the day and its effect on overall sleep quality. Constant sleep deprivation leads to a poor immune system, metabolic disorders, mood swings, and even makes you more prone to accidents since your mind and body are not in tip-top shape.

A well-lit room is a beautiful thing…except when it’s time to get some sleep. A new study shows that too much light at night can negatively affect a person’s immunity and endocrine systems, as well as other health issues.

Scientists often recommend sleeping in complete darkness to better enhance the quality of sleep. Staying true to the circadian rhythms that are innate within the body is also known to treat insomnia and other sleep problems, showing the importance of light during the day and darkness during the night.

Now, a study from Ohio State University shows that exposure to light at night, in addition to promoting sleeplessness, can disrupt the naturally occurring systems in the body, including immune and endocrine function.

Light pollution isn’t something you should take lightly. It disrupts your body’s normal circadian rhythm or sleep-wake cycle. In a lab study done on mice, health issues were also seen on the offsprings of test subjects who did not have the normal light-day and dark-night set-up.

You need to remember that you need to prepare your body for sleep. You just don’t turn yourself on and off like a light switch. Your body will have a hard time drifting off to sleep when the light is still on in the bedroom. It is not actually just turning off the light right before sleep but even the dimming of the lights roughly an hour before bedtime. Make sure to hide your smart gadgets too, so you won’t be tempted to play with it until sleepiness takes over, which will probably take a longer time. If you are scared of sleeping in the dark, wearing an eye mask will do just as long as you don’t see any light and your body perceives it is sleeping time already.

Sleep deprivation has elevated itself into a global health problem. It no longer comes as a surprise considering how obsessed almost everyone is with their smart gadgets. Moreover, our modern lifestyle prefers non-stop partying at night, eating greasy, fatty and sugary foods that make it difficult for one to sleep, late-night TV or online streaming binge-watching that makes sleeping on time impossible. As a result, you end up looking like a human panda – sporting dark undereye bags that are the result of long sleepless nights.

Sleep deprivation really hurts you bad. Not only do you feel bad from sleeplessness but from all the weight you likewise put on by constantly pulling all-nighters. For starters, you won’t have the energy to lead a healthy lifestyle if you don’t have the energy for it. Can you imagine doing the extra mile by regularly going to the supermarket to shop for fresh fruits and green and make the laborious preparations of cooking healthy meals or having the time and energy to jog after work or hit the gym perhaps to burn all the calories you’ve consumed during the day? Likely no, right?

Scientists are to give new advice on how to win the battle against the bulge: stop counting calories and count sheep instead. At a key international conference on Sunday, researchers will seek to highlight that a good night’s sleep is as important a factor as any other in ensuring people control their weight and waistlines.

Their research, which will be outlined at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Lisbon, will emphasise how disrupted sleep patterns – a common feature of modern living – can trigger changes in appetite, metabolism, motivation and physical activity, or even a combination of all these factors. This leads to disruption in people’s appetite and responses to food. The end result is weight gain. It is hoped that a breakthrough in public awareness of the issue could lead to significant health gains.

“Our studies suggest that sleep loss favours weight gain in humans. It is therefore fair to say that improving sleep could be a promising lifestyle intervention to reduce the risk of future weight gain,” said Christian Benedict, a neuroscientist at Uppsala University in Sweden, who is scheduled to speak at the Lisbon conference on Sunday.

Obesity is a growing problem and it predisposes people to a long list of health complications aside from reducing your self-esteem and ego to roughly the size of a peanut. Don’t be a part of the obesity epidemic and stay healthy by making a conscious effort to sleeping right and on time every night, if possible.

“Our studies also indicate that sleep loss shifts the hormonal balance from hormones that promote fullness ( satiety), such as the intestinal hormone glucagon-like peptide 1, to those that promote hunger, such as the stomach hormone ghrelin,” says Christian Benedict.

Sleep restriction also increased levels of endocannabinoids, which are also linked to appetite, the findings suggest.

The researchers say that sleep loss also affects the balance of gut bacteria, which has been widely implicated as key for maintaining how our bodies process food into energy.

Many studies have proven how detrimental sleep loss is to your body image. If you are conscious of the way you look and don’t want to sport unsightly cellulite and layers of fat, you can do your body a favor by observing regular sleeping habits.

Chronic sleep loss has a negative effect on metabolism, hormonal function, and the pace of aging. The lack of sleep can interfere with the body releasing hormones such as cortisol, and growth hormones which influence muscle strength, the ratio of muscle to fat, and cause people to age faster. Excess cortisol can damage a person’s health over a period of time and cause decrease memory, low energy, low immune system, weight gain, sleep disorders, and thyroid dysfunction. There are also increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes.

To combat chronic sleep deprivation and the consequential weight gain, try your best to sleep and wake up around the same time each day and night. Sleep in total darkness to promote the body’s normal circadian rhythm. It’s also not advisable to eat a hearty meal right before bedtime. Also, minimize mental stimulation at night. Turn off your smartphone, so sleep will come naturally.

Just think of the excess fats you’ll be gaining and the dark bags under your eyes you’ll be sporting when you always pull all-nighters. You’re not an owl. Allow your body to rest and relax, so it is ready for what lies ahead the next day or suffer the consequences of sleep loss. Weight gain is the least of your worries if you keep up this unhealthy lifestyle.

Sleeping is a welcome reprieve for all of us after a long day’s work. It’s what you look forward to the most once you get home from work or school. Sleeping plays a major role in normal human growth and development. Infants sleep almost all the time because they undergo rapid growth during the first year of life but your sleeping requirements continue to vary as you mature from childhood to adulthood. While we still need at least eight hours of sleep at night, we have other life obligations that take precedence over sleep.

The appearance of countless sleep clinics in and out of the country is just proof that people struggle with their sleep whether they like to admit it or not to other people. In the confines of a sleep clinic, they let their guards loose and admit the problems that are bothering them in their slumber. The fact that we know so little about ourselves when we are asleep does not help at all. It is why we seek the professional advice of a sleep doctor to help us understand an aspect of ourselves we don’t get to see at all.

Patients visit sleep clinics seeking both treatment and the solace of understanding that accompanies a clinical diagnosis: knowing that their sleep problems are not their fault, but are due to physiology and genetics. When people are unable to fall asleep or wake up at normal times, they may have a circadian rhythm disorder caused by a disruption in the body’s internal clock [1, 2]. Surprisingly, much of the basic biology of the body’s internal clock has been discovered by working on the tiny kitchen pest, the fruit fly. The fruit fly, known to researchers as Drosophila melanogaster, is oddly enough a perfect model for scientists to study the genetic basis of seemingly complex behaviors.

Our innate curious and inquisitive nature can’t help but wonder what really happens to our body during sleep. It’s the reason why sleep clinics are there. Moreover, it gives us an understanding of any sleep condition we are suffering from, so the appropriate intervention can be prescribed.

Investments in sleep aids are growing so large and fast they are best understood as a distinguishable sector of the $300B digital healthcare market. I’ve christened the sleep industry with the motto, better health through better sleep (BHBS).

While sleep clinics help people improve their sleep health, the people behind them aims to make money too from the misfortune of others. It’s a good investment today when the world is already full of material stuff. It can get too stuffy at times that people can no longer get the well-deserved rest they need.

Sleep testing service is medical test used to recognize and diagnose sleeping disorders. This test records oxygen level in blood, breathing, movements of leg and eye, brain waves, and heart rate. The study is carried out in some clinics and home care settings to gain monetary assistance. Sleep testing service is used to diagnose several disorders such as unexplained chronic insomnia, REM, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, sleep behavior disorder, periodic limb movement disorder, and others. Sleep testing services are predominant in the healthcare industry. For instance, a Toronto-based company BresoTec Inc. developed BresoDxTM, the first innovative product for diagnosis of sleep apnea by using SoundTrac technology and movement recording.

Sleep testing services are heavily adopted by people, which is expected to fuel the market growth in future. However, encouraging reimbursement policies is also contributing to the global market growth. Increasing occurrences of sleep disorders is another factor positively impacting the global market growth. Moreover, private insurance service providers also enhance the market growth in a positive way. However, the high cost required to set up sleep testing services is the restraining factor for the growth of the market.

It may be a growing market but sleep clinics are still a fairly novel concept that is why it is not yet included in the medical coverage of some individuals. This is one of the setbacks of its growth. It is likewise a major challenge for people with legit sleeping issues to overcome. Despite all these challenges, we may still continue to see growth in this industry because sleep deprivation persists to be a big issue for both young and old. These facilities often come equip with the necessary equipment and gadget and trained staff to help you deal with your sleep woes, something you won’t see in conventional health settings.

Do you lose sleep each night? Are you addicted to technology? Have you been diagnosed with a sleep disorder yourself? If you answered yes to all three questions, then without a doubt you have sleeping issues. Meanwhile, there is another factor you need to include in your growing list of health risks: air pollution. It is not actually a new one because air pollution in itself predisposes you to a long list of pulmonary diseases for as long as you can remember.

Sleep is already compromised because of our increasingly modern and sedentary lifestyle, smart gadget and social media obsession and the consequent overexposure to blue light among others that we constantly lose sleep as a result. Our health deteriorates because our surroundings are full of triggers that make us sleep-deprived, no matter what mattress we use. Can you imagine sleeping when the outside smoke from vehicles invades the confines of your private escape? After all, not all of us can afford air conditioning, so we have to make do with the poor air quality that everyone else breathes.

High levels of air pollution over time may get in the way of a good night’s sleep, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 International Conference.

“Prior studies have shown that air pollution impacts heart health and affects breathing and lung function, but less is known about whether air pollution affects sleep,” said lead author Martha E. Billings, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington. “We thought an effect was likely given that air pollution causes upper airway irritation, swelling and congestion, and may also affect the central nervous system and brain areas that control breathing patterns and sleep.”

The researchers analyzed data from 1,863 participants (average age 68) in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) who also enrolled in both MESA‘s Sleep and Air Pollution studies. The researchers looked at two of the most common air pollutants: NO2 (traffic-related pollutant gas) and PM2.5, or fine-particle pollution. Using air pollution measurements gathered from hundreds of MESA Air and Environmental Protection Agency monitoring sites in six U.S. cities, plus local environment features and sophisticated statistical tools, the research team was able to estimate air pollution exposures at each participant’s home at two time points: one year and five years.

While air pollution has always been a health risk, there was little to no link identified when it came to sleeping. However, recent studies reveal that exposure to air pollution has a negative impact to human’s sleeping patterns, after all.

Some 15 to 20 per cent of students in Delhi’s private schools are suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in comparison to only two per cent students in government schools, an ongoing study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has revealed.
The study — whose first phase has been completed with over 7,000 students examined — is being funded by the Department of Science and Technology and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The age group examined as part of the study is 10-17 years.

“We are doing a study whose findings are very dramatic and it reveals that in the government schools we hardly see OSA. However, in private schools we see huge presence of OSA in the students. It is an ongoing study but the data found in the first phase is so startling that we want to know what will be the result after the completion of the study,” said AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria.

Sleep apnea is caused by recurrent episodes of upper airway obstruction during sleep. Several risk factors, including obesity, male sex, age and heridity, have been associated with an increased prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in the general population.
Among these, obesity is one of the strongest sleep apnea risk factors (12-15 years). Mild to moderate obesity has been associated with markedly increased sleep apnea prevalence.

Another study regarding air pollution’s link to the prevalence of sleep apnea is also being conducted in line with this study. The sleep experts are doing their best to understand the reason for the increase in sleep apnea sufferers despite the young age of the students.

Many have a hard time falling and staying asleep these days. It is not a comforting thought considering how complex life has become for all of us. The last thing we wanted was to get a good night’s sleep at the end of the day. It is what our tired mind and body need. If we don’t address it right away, we’ll be facing even more problems not solely related to our health, so better get to the heart of the matter now.

Sleep should come naturally to all of us in a perfect world. However, the world is far from perfect and there is little you can do about it but to learn how to cope or else succumb to illness. It’s even more challenging to do so this time around because the world is cluttered with one technology after the other that you end up with little time for sleeping soundly at night.

Most of the time, we think of technology as a distraction because it often is. But if you think about it, technology are merely tools and it’s how you use them that makes the difference whether it works for the good or bad. And it is true in every sense of the word with the number of individuals hooked to social media. Consequently, the bright blue light emitted by these smart gadgets is likewise bad for one’s health especially when you are exposed to it at night. But don’t despair yet because things are about to change with these cool gadgets that will surely work to your advantage. You can now sleep soundly at night and save yourself from all the tossing and turning until the wee hours of the morning that you were guilty of doing in the past.

NEUROON

Neuroon, the world’s first smart sleep mask. The device comprises two parts: the mask itself and the app that goes along with it. While you sleep, the mask uses sensors to gather data such as your pulse, temperature, and muscle movement. This information is fed to the app, which can track your sleep patterns, determine the best time for you to take a nap, and give you tips on how to improve your sleep.

LULLY SLEEP GUARDIAN 2

The Lully Sleep Guardian 2 can help stop these terrors before they start. The Bluetooth-enabled device is placed under the child’s mattress and programmed via an app to vibrate just before a night terror is expected to start (usually 2 to 3 hours after a child falls asleep).

SMART NORA

Smart Nora is designed to help both snorers and the people who love/hate them get better sleep. When the smart device detects the initial sounds of snoring, it triggers a pump that inflates a pillow insert. This inflation raises the snorer’s head just enough to prompt the airway to assume its natural, non-snore-inducing position, but not so much as to disturb the snorer’s sleep. The result is a quieter, more restful night for everyone.

In the past year or so, various gadgets in aid of sleep have made their way to the consumer market mainly because there is a growing demand for it. Many people are suffering from poor sleep that in turn affects performance. It is why it is never a great idea to drive or operate heavy machinery when lacking in sleep because the drowsiness may cloud your better judgment and put your life (and health) at serious risk.

If you were going to design a smart bed this would be it. Sleep Number 360 pulls out all the tricks in the book when it comes to getting you getting you a good night’s sleep.

Cold feet? Sorted. The foot warmer at the base of the bed automatically comes on when you first get into bed.

Partner snoring? Got it covered. Sleep Number 360 detects when someone starts to snore and tilts their head upward to help clear their airways.

Is there anything more annoying than being too hot in bed? You toss and turn, have lucid dreams and wake up with the sheets wrapped around you.

Cue the Kyro Sleep Performance System. It’s a water-based mattress topper that cools your bed down during the night. Control it via the app and keep your bed a cool 16-degrees throughout the night.

It can also integrate with your sleep tracker to help you improve your REM and Deep Sleep. Currently still being crowdfunded on Indiegogo it should be ready to ship later this year.

Aside from your busy schedule and numerous interests, too much tech use disrupts your body’s circadian rhythm. A normal sleep-wake cycle allows the body to perform restorative biologic processes that often happens at night, so the body is in peak shape upon waking up the next day. Technology becomes your friend or foe depending on how you use it. Use it right and you won’t have a problem dozing off once the lights are out. But if you have already been diagnosed with a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea, using the gadgets mentioned above, as well as this, can supplement the medical management prescribed by your doctor and ensure that sleep is now the least of your worries.

Even healthy adults experience some sleeping issues now and then. What worsens these problems is when tech use enters the equation. With a smartphone in hand, you willingly lose precious sleep each day. Aside from technology, sleep disorders are increasingly becoming common too. While we have long known about insomnia, it is sleep apnea that is grabbing our attention these days.

If you don’t know what sleep apnea is, no need to look it up the web anymore. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by one or more breathing pauses or shallow breaths during sleep. Your breathing may stop for several seconds to a few minutes and may occur at an interval of half an hour to an hour apart before the next breathing pause happens. You breathe normally in between but are often accompanied by a loud choking or snoring sound. Sleep apnea is a chronic sleep disorder that will continue to affect your sleep until you seek treatment for it.

Products are available to open the airway. The C-PAP machine is one of the most recognizable treatments, and is covered by most insurances. It is used to prevent both snoring, and sleep apnea.

Other less aggressive options include custom-fitted mouth pieces provided by dentists, that are also covered by insurance. Other options can be bought online for about $100.

“For example this is an appliance that is considered a boil-and-bite. You bite into it similarly to a football appliance and then it is what is used to keep jaw in a stable position,” Dr. Wiggins said. “This particular type of appliance is called a Zyppah and you can get it online, but you [have to] realize that you should not get one unless you have a diagnosis of sleep apnea.”

The first thing you need to do is to consult a doctor or get tested in a sleep clinic to get the correct diagnosis. Conventional treatment often includes medications and the use of a CPAP machine. Otherwise known as continuous positive airway pressure, CPAP keeps your airways open using mild air pressure. Hence, your airway won’t collapse when you breathe with the help of the increase in air pressure. It’s the most common sleep apnea treatment and has been around for ages. Unfortunately, it isn’t the most convenient to use even though it’s supposed to be the best, so patients often stop using it weeks after starting treatment.

One way to treat excessive snoring and sleep apnea is to use dental or oral devices. These appliances are useful in correcting mild to moderate cases of obstructive sleep apnea. The good news is that there are numerous options for these dental devices, and an orthodontist or dentist can recommend one that suits the particular needs of the patient and fit it in the safest way.

One device that can be recommended for the sleep apnea sufferer is the mandibular advancement device. This is one of the most widely used dental appliances for the treatment of sleep apnea. It resembles a sports mouth guard in appearance and is useful in forcing the lower jaw down and forward slightly. This offers tremendous help in keeping the airway open, thereby preventing problems in breathing.

A tongue-retraining device can also be recommended to correct sleep apnea. This splint holds the tongue in the right position and works to keep the airway open. Regular dental visits are crucial because the device requires periodic adjustments or replacements.

If you ticked CPAP off your sleep apnea treatment options, don’t lose hope yet because there are plenty of anti-snoring mouthpieces you can try. They may not be as effective as CPAP itself but they have been proven to deliver positive results and can be used in conjunction with other sleep apnea management. It works by realigning the jaw by moving the tongue as well as the soft palate that in turn improves air flow. These mouthpieces help in improving sleep pattern and in reducing the snoring frequency and loudness that most patients often complain about.

There is no need to suffer from sleep apnea even further because you can now enjoy deep slumber and feel refreshed the day after with the help of this anti-snoring mouthpiece. No need to even consider surgery just yet because a snoring mouthpiece will do in correcting these structural deficiencies that lead to or worsens sleep apnea. While CPAP is the better option between the two, snoring mouthpieces also have their finer points that you can’t just ignore. If a CPAP isn’t working for you, you can always try a snoring mouthpiece or gadget before deciding to go under the knife.

The days are longer now that there are distractions at home that keep you away from your sleep. Aside from working the entire day, you still find the time to keep yourself updated on your various social media accounts before calling it a day. At times, you can get too engrossed and forget the hours passing by. It’s no wonder that sleep deprivation is fast becoming a medical issue because more and more people don’t mind losing sleep because of their #FOMO.

Meanwhile, there are other conditions that leave you sleep-deprived that aren’t actually of your own doing. These are sleep disorders that mess up your sleep-wake cycle that often persists for years if not treated. Other times, it can be a breathing issue that disrupts sleep and even put your health and life at risk such as sleep apnea. You actually need to get tested to find out for sure if you really have sleep apnea although most people now generally assume that you have it if you are a loud snorer.

Chronic cases of sleep apnea can lead to health problems including high blood pressure, heart issues, and even type 2 diabetes.

It can be difficult to diagnose sleep apnea as there is no blood test to identify the condition. Doctors usually can’t detect the condition during routine office visits either due to its relatively subtle symptoms. However, a newly developed diagnostic device aims to change this. A recent clinical trial has found a way to effectively detect sleep apnea across all severity level.

Sleep apnea is characterized by frequent nighttime awakenings. A patient may even experience hundreds of these episodes in a single night. The most common type of sleep apnea is the obstructive variant, which is due to the airway collapsing or becoming blocked during sleep.

Not all snorers have sleep apnea, though. It is why you should get yourself tested right away to confirm such a diagnosis.

However, diagnosing sleep apnea may become a lot easier. A new, disposable patch has proven to effectively detect the condition from the comfort of your own home.

“Our study provided clinical validation of a new wearable device for diagnosing sleep apnea. It was most surprising to us how well this inexpensive miniature device performed in comparison with in-lab sleep studies,” said principal investigator Maria Merchant, CEO of Somnarus Inc.

You can do this at various clinics that have sprouted all over the country these days. The catch here is that you have to sleep in these sleep labs overnight so the sleep technician can assess you properly. Fortunately, recent innovations have introduced sleep apnea test kits that you can use at home by yourself. You save a lot of money doing this because you no longer have to pay for the center, the test itself, and the technician who will conduct the sleep test.

Sleep centers receive between $500 to $600 for an in-lab test; home sleep tests only bring in around $150 to $230. A 2015 economic analysis of sleep apnea testing showed that providers actually lost money on at-home sleep tests.

And the amount insurance companies will pay for any kind of sleep test — especially in-lab testing — has been going down over time, said Glenn Becker, the CEO and president of the International Institute of Sleep, a Florida-based sleep clinic group.

“Eight years ago, our fee schedule was 45 percent higher. Over the last eight years, they have totally crushed our fee schedule. They’re making it very very hard.”

“I’m not against home sleep testing,” Becker said. “But as far as [home sleep tests] are concerned, I think they should be strictly be used in cases when someone can’t get to a facility or is homebound or in emergency cases.”

Others try to shrug off the issue of sleep apnea rationalizing that it is one of those discomforts in life you just have to deal with. But that way of thinking no longer works now since we know more about its perils. While there is really no single solution that can address it, there are various management options that can at least reduce the symptoms without necessarily going under the knife.

It’s why you need to get tested as soon as you can to be able to start treatment right away. And if you aren’t comfortable with the thought of sleeping in some sterile sleep lab with people watching your every move, try these at-home sleep apnea test kits that does the job without costing as much.